Live-Streaming Arrives on Vimeo's Subscription Service, Livestream Studio expands

Live-streaming arrives on Vimeo’s subscription service

Vimeo’s subscription service is gaining live-streaming. During the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show on April 9, the company announced the addition of live-streaming to Vimeo OTT. Along with expanding the subscription service, Vimeo also launched Studio One, a new compact encoder, and brought the Livestream Studio 5 software to MacOS.

Vimeo OTT is a service that allows creatives to create subscription-based video channels online or in apps, and adding live content to it is a direct result of Vimeo’s acquisition of Livestream less than six months ago. Vimeo says the expansion will allow apps and websites using the service to add 4K live-streams using existing hardware and software. The change means businesses and organizations using Vimeo OTT will now be able to live-stream anything from sports games to yoga classes and church services.

“This integration and acquisition takes some time to complete — we’re still in the middle of the process,” said Mark Kornfilt, the founder of Livestream and now the general manager of Live at Vimeo. “I’m proud of where we have gotten to and what it has allowed us to do up in this short period of time. This is the partial realization of a lot of things we’ve been thinking about since before the acquisition.”

The expanded subscription service comes alongside a new encoder for live video. Studio One, Kornfilt says, offers a lot of power inside a desktop-sized, 11-inch Mini-ITX box. The encoder allows for broadcasts up to 4K in resolution, with options for setting up with two 4K inputs, four HD outputs, or four SDI inputs. Studio One is equipped with the latest generation Intel six-core CPU and a high-performance graphics card.

Pricing hasn’t yet been announced, but Kornfilt says that the encoder is designed to mix affordability with compact power. The Studio One is expected to begin selling in the next three months.

Vimeo is also bringing Livestream Studio, software for creating a live production switcher, beyond the Windows platform. The new Studio 5 is compatible with both MacOS and Windows for creating live-streams with multiple cameras. By optimizing the software for the user’s hardware, the program can run on both operating systems, while also opening up options for running on less expensive consumer-grade computers. The update also includes a “simple mode” designed for beginners.

For large companies, Vimeo is also launching an enterprise content delivery network, or eCDN. It is designed to handle a large number of concurrent users, reducing bandwidth requirements when, say, multiple employees are watching the same training video.

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